More than two billion people around the world still do not have access to safe drinking water, the United Nations warned on Tuesday, stressing that progress towards universal access is going far slower than it should.
The UN’s health and children’s agencies reported that last year a quarter of the global population was without access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 100 million people still depend on water from surface sources, such as rivers, lakes and canals.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have pointed out that poor water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems put billions of people at greater risk of disease.
In a joint study, they warned that the world is far from achieving the goal of universal coverage of these services by 2030.
Instead, that goal is “becoming less and less achievable,” they warned.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges: they are basic human rights. We need to speed up action, especially for the most marginalized communities, said Rudiger Kreh, head of the environment department at WHO.
The report looked at five levels of drinking water services. Safe water management, the highest level, is defined as water that is available in the household, available when needed and free from fecal or chemical contamination.
The four lower levels are: basic (improved water that can be reached in less than 30 minutes), restricted (improved but with a longer access time), unimproved (eg, water from an unprotected well or spring), and surface water.
The use of surface water for drinking is in decline
Since 2015, 961 million people have gained access to safely managed drinking water, with coverage increasing from 68 percent to 74 percent, the report said.
Of the 2.1 billion people who were still without it last year, 106 million used surface water, a decrease of 61 million in the last decade.
The number of countries that have eliminated the use of surface water for drinking has increased from 142 in 2015 to 154 in 2024.
In 2024, 89 countries had universal access to at least basic drinking water, of which 31 had universal access to safely managed services.
The 28 countries, where more than a quarter of people still lack basic services, are mostly concentrated in Africa.
The goals become more and more unattainable
On sanitation, 1.2 billion people have gained access to safely managed sanitation services since 2015, with coverage increasing from 48 percent to 58 percent, the study found.
These services include improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households, and faeces are safely removed or treated off-site.
The number of people practicing open defecation is reduced by 429 million to 354 million in 2024, or 4 percent of the world’s population.
Since 2015, 1.6 billion people have gained access to basic hygiene services, with coverage increasing from 66 percent to 80 percent.
“When children do not have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, their health, education and future are at risk,” warned Cecilia Sharp, director of UNICEF for Vaš.
“These inequalities are particularly pronounced among girls, who often bear the burden of collecting water and face additional obstacles during menstruation. At the current rate, the prospect of safe water and sanitation for every child is an increasingly elusive goal,” she added.
